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Back when the project that eventually became “Tora-san: Our Lovable Tramp” was conceptualised, most of the people involved would have probably never guessed the pop-culture phenomenon it would go on to become or the effect it would have on their lives and careers. Kiyoshi Atsumi, the lead actor, probably had no idea that the character would end up being his biggest legacy and that he’d be playing it until his death in ’96. Director Yoji Yamada would have also never imagined that he would be returning to direct a Tora-san film until the age of 88, writing every of the 50 screenplays and directing most of them. Shochiku, the studio that was Tora-san’s home, would have never thought that this character would effectively keep the studio afloat single-handedly for a number of years. Yet here we are, 50 years later, with none of the character’s and series’s prominence diminished. On...

When legendary actor Kiyoshi Atsumi lost his battle with lung cancer in 1996, it effectively brought an abrupt, if not immature, end to the long-running Tora-san series, which had spanned 27 years and 48 films up to that point. So synonymous was the actor with the character that the former’s death was also considered the death of the latter, not just by the fans but also by Yoji Yamada, the director who had helmed 46 of the 48 entries and also wrote (or co-wrote) every single Tora-san story until then. Yamada did pay heartfelt tribute to the character, and Japanese cinema in general, in his 1996 release “Niji O Tsukamu Otoko”, which is considered the 49th entry in series, while still alluding that everyone’s beloved travelling salesman is still out there somewhere. In 2019, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the character, the 88-years-old director returns once again to the story of Tora-san and the...

Hong Kong Arts Centre: Moving Images announces their May programme, which includes their Golden Scene Selection, “Hong Kong Short Film: New Action Express” Online Short Film Selection: And Here Comes the Dawn, Hong Kong Arts Centre x Hong Kong Independent Film Festival – Independently Yours: Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down and Independently Yours – May.

Golden Scene Selection – May

Venue: Louis Koo Cinema, Hong Kong Arts Centre Date: 2020.05.26 – 2020.05.31Price: Standard ticket: $80. Tickets are now available at Putyourself.in.

“Golden Scene Selection”, proudly presented by the Hong Kong Arts Centre (Hkac) and Golden Scene Company Limited, will bring the audience a series of cherry-picked selections from around the world at the Hkac.Screening Schedule26/5 (Tue) 8pm Suk Suk (Preview)27/5 (Wed) 8pm Beyond The Dream (Preview)28/5 (Thu) 8pm My Prince Edward (Preview)29/5 (Fri) 8pm Tora-san, Wish You Were Here*30/5 (Sat) 3pm Beyond The Dream (Preview)30/5 (Sat) 7pm Suk Suk31/5 (Sun) 3pm Tora-san,...

“Welcome Back, Tora-san,” by veteran director Yoji Yamada, has been set as the opening title of this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. The title is a 50th anniversary instalment in the long-running “It’s Tough Being a Man” film franchise.

The “It’s Tough Being a Man” (aka “Otoko wa Tsurai yo”) films follow the travels of a kind-hearted vagabond, Torajiro Kuruma (aka Tora-san) who is always unlucky in love. Each film features a different leading lady, called a Madonna, and a different region of Japan.

There were 49 previous “Tora-san” movies, with the last appearing in 1995. “It was always very exciting to anticipate the latest work in this series every summer and New Year holiday. The ‘Tora-san’ series was a nationwide favorite, and looking back, it also captures the history of popular actresses in Japan,” said Tokyo festival director Takeo Hisamatsu.

The new film focuses on Tora-san’s nephew Mitsuo,...

Stars: Nao Ômori, Lindsay Hayward, Mao Daichi, Hairi Katagiri, Gin Maeda, Suzuki Matsuo, Hitoshi Matsumoto, Eriko Satô, Shinobu Terajima, Ai Tominaga | Written by Hitoshi Matsumoto, Mitsuyoshi Takasu, Tomoji Hasegawa, Kôji Ema, Mitsuru Kuramoto | Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto

Hitoshi Matsumoto is a director who, though I can’t say I know a great deal about, only that he is a comedian known for his surreal and crazy style, I have enjoyed greatly in the past with his films Symbol (2009) and Big Man Japan (2007) so I was intrigued and excited to see that R100, Matsumoto’s latest, was going to be a part of Frightfest in 2014.

A stiff bodied and reticent office worker, Takafumi, joins a strange club which has one rule, the rule being that, under no circumstances can you cancel your membership within the year in which the membership runs for. Simple. No. What this results in is hard to quite explain,...

The line-up for this year's Film4 FrightFest in London has just been announced – and boy, is it a doozy! Sporting a record-breaking 38 UK/European premieres and 11 world premieres, this August is going to be an exciting time in the genre calendar.

Check it all out right here, including lots of new images!

This year Film4 FrightFest will be moving from its previous home at Leicester Square's Empire Cinema to the nearby Vue Cinema (also on Leicester Square), prompting an ingenious reshuffle of the screening arrangements.

All main screen films will be presented at different times across three different screens, with two extra screens reserved for single-slot screenings of the various films hitting this year's Discovery Screens.

Here's the full list of goodies:

Main Screens (5, 6, 7)

Thursday Aug 21

Opening Night Film - The Guest (UK Premiere)

Director: Adam Wingard. Cast: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer, Sheila Kelley, Leland Orser. USA 2014. 99 mins.

Film4 FrightFest 2014, returning for its 15th year, unveils its biggest line-up ever. From Thurs 21 August to Monday 25 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Vue West End, Leicester Square, to present sixty-four films plus twenty shorts across five screens. There are sixteen countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-eight UK or European premieres and eleven world premieres.

Are you ready for a monstrous and memorable mayhem of killer claws, cannibalism, cult classics, murderous musicals, chiller thrillers, graphic novel action and sick celluloid masterpieces? Then prepare yourself for the biggest, strongest and most eclectic must-see programme in Film4 FrightFest’s history.

From the opening night turbo-driven thrill-ride The Guest to the UK premiere of the closing night mesmeric sci-fi fantasy The Signal, FrightFest has netted the latest works from genre big-hitters such as Eli Roth (The Green Inferno), Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins (Show...